BTS

Legendary photographer Douglas Kirkland has worked with some of the most influencial celebrities in the world since 1961. Starting his career at the age of twenty-four, he was hired that same year by Look Magazine to photograph Marilyn Monroe for their 25th anniversary issue. His process and gear were simple but what he talks about to capture perfect seductive moments with Marilyn is brilliant.

Turning the work you do on a personal project into something that makes you money isn't a new idea (just ask stock shooters.) However, the forethought required to concept a personally fulfilling shoot or production that will also have the chance to generate some income can be tricky to figure out. This past weekend I had three shoots, and they were all because of one personal project I created a month ago. And I actually planned for this to happen.

Mathieu Maury and Antoine Pai are two photography and filmmaking enthusiast who decided to launch a production and advertising company called Maison Carnot. They are passionate about finding new subjects and ways to explore what surrounds them. Based on this philosophy, they came up with the short film "Paris through Pentax".

Have you ever snuck into a concert before? How about a huge festival? Well, in 2010 James Marcus Haney really wanted to attend Coachella... the only problem was he didn't have the money to get a ticket. So what's the next best thing? He figured out a way to bypass security and get in for free and got to see some of the bands he had admired for years. He continued sneaking into festivals around the world for the next few years, and filmed every minute of it.

My friend and RIDES Magazine's head photographer Andrew Link is no stranger to Fstoppers. He also happens to be one of the kings of shooting cars with the Westcott Ice Light, which is essentially a handheld LED rod (looks like a flourescent tube) used as a constant daylight temperature light source. After about 6 months of me begging Andrew for him to make one, he has finally created a fantastic and to-the-point tutorial on how to create an epic car portrait with nothing but a camera, tripod, and the Ice Light.

Jeremy Cowart is one of the most respected names in commercial and entertainment photography. Earlier this year he had the opportunity to travel to Iceland for the first time to shoot the talented singer Imogen Heap in a new portrait series. The photos that they captured in the remote and ethereal landscape of Iceland are nothing short of stunning.

In this making of video, outdoor brand Mammut is shown working with Dani Arnold and Stephan Siegrist, two alpinists, to plan a climb up the north face of the Eiger. What makes this ascent unique though, is the inclusion of a 360-degree GoPro setup which is used to capture panoramic shots from the mountainside. The result of their efforts is a unique look into the views, terrain, and conditions that the climbers faced. Mammut recently unveiled an interactive web portal to give anyone who wants to ascend the Eiger, the chance to do so from the comfort of their office chair.

When it comes to portrait photography, your camera, your light, your years of photographic know-how counts for little if you don't have a subject with substance. The power of a portrait is in the people. Do you reveal their essence? Do you tell their story?

Ever since I started diving into studio photography the term “V-Flat” has been a big mystery to me. Google and YouTube have been the quintessential resource for photography knowledge and for whatever reason there isn't much detailed information on how to construct a V-Flat or what purpose they actually serve. It took time to sift through the noise of nonsensical DIY fabrication and even more time to unfold the enigma of this studio essential.

Our friend, retoucher and commercial photographer Clint Davis is no stranger to this site. He was nice enough to share this awesome behind-the-scenes video from this recent ad campaign. The most impressive part aside from the images themselves? The fact that he only had about five minutes per setup while working alongside a separate video shoot.

It’s always nice to work with a client that has as much invested in making a great image as you do. I recently had the opportunity to work with poet and academic Katie Schmid for some portraits. Outside of her own poetry, Katie writes for a few blogs and online magazines. Katie knew she needed a fairly standard image to use with those publications, but expressed interest in creating a second image that better captured her personality.

Aerial videos that have been shot by drones have been flooding YouTube for the last few years, especially as the cost and expertise needed to get into it has come down. A birds-eye point of view can add a lot of production value to a video project, but where does one start when looking to get into aerial video? I spoke with Brent Foster who told me about the doors that shooting aerial video can open, as well as the challenges they present.

First-person cameras, such as the ubiquitous GoPro, have been filming hours of footage from their owner’s journeys for years now. These lengthy uncut videos don’t hold much interest to most people, but a team of Microsoft Researchers are aiming to change that by using some remarkable technology they hope to release as part of an upcoming app.

In this excellent installment of the B&H Prospectives video series, photographer Robert Rodriguez Jr. explains what goes in to taking successful landscape images, offers his thought process while out in the field, and dives in to some worthy ideas to inspire the development of your art.

The challenge: 30 images in 5 days for an international tool company. New York based advertising, fashion, and fine art photographer, João Carlos was the man chosen by Lisbon agency Ivity Brand Corp. to accomplish the mission. A Hasselblad Masters winner with clients like Nike, MTV, Avon and Sandisk, it was clear Carlos had the vision and expertise to turn the agency’s mood boards into an incredible campaign for their client.